How States Can Best Prepare for the Approaching DOJ Accessibility Deadline

Alex and Amy are joined this week by NASCIO policy analyst Kalea Young-Gibson. We discuss vendor accountability, litigation trends and how states can reduce legal and operational risk as the DOJ final rule for accessibility of web content and mobil apps approaches.

Transcript

Amy Glasscock 0:05

Hi, and welcome to NASCIO Voices, where we talk all things state IT. I'm Amy Glasscock in Lexington, Kentucky.

Alex Whitaker 0:11

And I'm Alex Whitaker in Washington, D.C., where we have finally dug out of some of the snow from the last two weeks. Today we're talking all about accessibility deadlines, publications, and litigation with our very own NASCIO policy analyst, Kalea Young Gibson.

Amy Glasscock 0:24

Kalea, welcome back to the podcast.

Kalea Young-Gibson 0:25

Happy to be here as always.

Amy Glasscock 0:27

We're happy to have you too. All right, so first of all, give us just sort of a you know brief overview what's new when it comes to accessibility in NASCIO World.

Kalea Young-Gibson 0:37

So lots, actually. So last December, about 30 state accessibility officers came together in Lexitan, Kentucky for NASCIO's first ever accessibility officer summit. This was a major milestone for the community and a signal that accessibility is becoming a core part of enterprise IT strategies. That summit focused on issues that states are wrestling with the most, such as procurement expectations, AI and accessibility, privacy intersections, vendor accountability, and the practical realities of just scaling accessibility across such large and complex environments. These sessions were led by our wonderful IT accessibility working group, and the feedback was clear. States want more guidance on how to build and maintain statewide accessibility programs that fit their actual IT environments. So that feedback actually directly shaped what will I think be NASCIO's newest publication when it comes out, hopefully within the next month or so. It'll be a resource that looks at how accessibility policy moves through the six IT operating structure buckets used across state government. So instead of assuming every state has the same levers, this publication will show how policy flows, where it gets stuck, and which strategies will work best depending on whether a state is decentralized, federated, consolidated, or fully unified. It also emphasizes something that came up repeatedly at the summit, which is the importance of the accessibility officer and the CIO partnership. That partnership is the through line. No matter the operating structure, that partnership is what determines whether accessibility becomes an enterprise priority or stays fragmented.

Amy Glasscock 2:25

Awesome. Love that. That sounds very useful. Look forward to learning about all of that. All right. So when it comes to digital accessibility, where does vendor accountability really begin and end for states?

Kalea Young-Gibson 2:38

So especially with um the DOJ final rule, we've been exploring that question a lot more in depth. Um and when it comes to vendors, the big message is that accessibility can't be something states just hope a vendor handles. It has to be something that the vendor proves. Throughout our other um accessibility works at NASCIO, uh we've tried to make it really clear that states are still on the hook under the DOJ final rule for the accessibility of anything the public uses, even if the vendor built it. So the way that I frame it is vendors can absolutely help you meet your goals, but they cannot carry your liability. Um so that means states need contracts up front that require real testing, real evidence, real timelines, real corrective plans, um, not just, you know, a VPAT and a handshake over a drink.

Amy Glasscock 3:34

Right, right. Great.

Alex Whitaker 3:35

Yeah. Um so tell us about what's going on around accessibility litigation uh and how can states use what's happening in the courts now to get ahead of risk instead of just being reactive to it.

Kalea Young-Gibson 3:46

Yeah, and so that's something that uh NASCIO is going to continue to dig into this year. But from what we've seen so far, um the lawsuits that we're seeing, they aren't mysterious, right? There's nothing really new. There aren't really any brand new trends of the sources of these lawsuits. Um they're showing up in the same places that states already know are the most vulnerable, which is going to be your websites, mobile apps, PDFs, everyone's best friend, right? And just different forms and archive documents. Um, and honestly, most of these issues are preventable. What the trends tell us is that accessibility problems usually come from a lack of oversight, not a lack of intent. Um, a lot of times there's just so many moving parts in in an enterprise, um, and they're so complex, like it is much more likely that it just wasn't caught due to the sheer volume, and in some cases, the the lack of manpower that they have to actually, you know, look through these things, not a lack of intent. So states can use that data to focus on the highest risk areas first, a strategy that we've already seen a couple states use as they are going towards DOJ final rule compliance and use that to kind of build routines, regular testing, structured reviews, periodic meetings with agency heads just to you know keep things from slipping through the cracks.

Alex Whitaker 5:06

Yeah, that sounds really awesome. So when it comes to kind of the nuts and bolts and breaking down what the steps are to sort of do what you're saying about to check, you know, oversight and that kind of thing. Um, what can a state really do on a day-to-day basis?

Kalea Young-Gibson 5:19

Um, and I feel like this is going to be reiterating a point that we've made since the start of our accessibility work. Um, but again, it it goes without saying the most effective risk reduction happens before anything goes live. That means procurement language that's specific, not vague, testing that's independent, not self-attested, and vendor oversight that is ongoing and building those vendor relationships, not just a one-and-done kind of touch point. Um, we've talked a lot about how expensive remediation is, and that is honestly like the heart of it at the end of the day. States will save money and avoid complaints when accessibility is treated as a quality standard from day one, not a cleanup project later on. Got it.

Amy Glasscock 6:04

So I can imagine that some folks at states, as the you know, compliance deadlines are getting closer, might start getting a little nervous, wondering if they're going to be ready. What should state leaders focus on first?

Kalea Young-Gibson 6:17

So that first deadline is about two months away, um, April 24th, 2026. And the smartest thing that states can do, it's honestly just continuing what a lot of states have been doing, which is focusing on the levers that move the entire enterprise, right? So again, procurement, testing capacity, and vendor remediation planning, getting in the door, talking to your vendors early and frequently. You don't have to fix everything at once. Um, you just need a clear, defensible plan that shows you're prioritizing high-impact systems and holding vendors to the same expectations that you hold your internal teams to. Um, and to add on top of that, creating some sort of plan to deal with the unknowns. Um, I predict that there are going to be a lot of cases where complaints are filed and the agency lead or the state CIO, again, like I said earlier, just did not notice that because of the sheer volume of everything that is, you know, passing in front of these people. So having a kind of proactive plan, like, okay, this is the template we're going to follow when we encounter this unknown, because it's not an if, it's a it's a win, most likely.

Alex Whitaker 7:30

Yeah. So kind of when it comes to the, you know, looking at the whole life cycle cycle process and and and doing what you're you're saying about starting at the beginning. Um, you know, when it comes to everything from RFP to contract management, how should states really be embedding accessibility and enforcing it?

Kalea Young-Gibson 7:47

So the biggest shift that states can make is again evaluating accessibility before a contract is signed, asking vendors to show you their product works with assistive tech, getting people in the room, especially stakeholder groups and people with disabilities in the room for demonstrations where possible, asking for testing result logs to show that the service has been repeatedly tested and issues were addressed where needed, and asking what you know other roadmap looks like. So, for example, if you're planning an update to this technology within the next few years, what does that accessibility roadmap look like and things of that nature? Once they're selected, keep accessibility in the conversation. Again, checkpoints, documentation, and clear accountability. It is also imperative that the state tech leaders also open that door. So let's say if the state tech leader gets a complaint about the service, contact that vendor immediately and let them know that so they can also start looking at things on their end. The systems that cause the most trouble, authentication forms, anything that the public has to complete, those should get the most scrutiny. Anything that's going to be public-facing and is vital to a digital citizen service should be under the most scrutiny. And just remember that oversight is not about being mean or being punitive. It's just about making sure that the state gets what they paid for and the citizen gets the most efficient service that they can get.

Amy Glasscock 9:14

Awesome. Well, thank you so much for all of this. I think this was a really good quick overview kind of of you know what states can be thinking about right now as deadline gets closer. So definitely gonna be something our members are following a lot this year, especially in April. So um of course we will not and cannot let you go just yet until you answer a few questions about life outside of work in the lightning round.

Alex Whitaker 9:40

Absolutely. Yay! All right, so Kalea, number one, if we looked at your camera roll right now, what would we see the most of?

Kalea Young-Gibson 9:48

Um, probably wrestling memes and cat videos.

Alex Whitaker 9:52

Nice. Okay. And your cats, right?

Kalea Young-Gibson 9:54

Yes, my cat. Well, some of the TikTok cats have made it into my my camera role as well. They're they're cute as well.

Alex Whitaker 10:01

Got it.

Amy Glasscock 10:02

Yeah, I don't know about you, but I'm getting a lot of AI cats in my social media feed.

Kalea Young-Gibson 10:06

Yeah, no, that's kind of creepy. Like real cats only, please.

Alex Whitaker 10:09

Until I saw, I didn't realize those were AI until I saw the dog drive away from the DUI stuff. And then I realized, oh, it's AI is getting into my algorithm.

Amy Glasscock 10:19

There's one that keeps popping up my daughter and I watch called Moolala and Pip, and it's like a cat mom and cat kitten, and they both wear overalls and do like comfort food cooking in their cabin. And every now and then Moolala puts on a dress if like a boy cat comes over, which is the only way I knew it was a girl. So anyway, they have some good recipes. But anyway. Uh next question. If you had a free Saturday with no responsibilities, how would you spend it?

Kalea Young-Gibson 10:48

Hmm. So I would definitely sleep in. Um I would have to find a way, of course, to ignore my my cat's 8 a.m. breakfast alarm. So I would definitely find a way to do that and sleep in. And then I've been wanting to take my cats on more walks now that it's starting to warm up a little bit. Um, so I would actually take them on a walk um and come back and actually make it through my entire to-do list.

Amy Glasscock 11:18

No responsibilities. You don't have to do your to-do list.

Kalea Young-Gibson 11:21

Oh, no responsibilities.

Amy Glasscock 11:22

That is right. Okay, hard, right? Oh, I would paint walls or something.

Kalea Young-Gibson 11:27

Then to change my answer after I take the cats on the walk, I'm going back to sleep.

Amy Glasscock 11:31

Yay. Okay. I know. I thought about that too, and I was like, what do you mean? Like, no responsibilities. Yeah, like just do things that are fun?

Kalea Young-Gibson 11:38

Like if I have free time, free time, I need to do things that I didn't do last week.

Amy Glasscock 11:42

I'm the same way, yes.

Alex Whitaker 11:44

Alright. And what is one small everyday ritual that keeps you grounded and sane?

Kalea Young-Gibson 11:49

I would say my evening cup of tea, and there is um a fake news YouTube channel I watch. It's just like happy, like funny pop culture things in a in a news parody segment. Um, so just sitting down with a warm cup of tea and turning that on, that's how I know I'm about to wind down for bed.

Amy Glasscock 12:11

Sounds fun. Yeah. I'd say it's probably not getting your cat into a harness to go on a walk.

Speaker 2 12:16

No, definitely not at night. Not at night

Alex Whitaker 12:17

All right. Well, that's it for today. Kalea, thanks again for coming back. I think we've you are you are really gonna hold the record soon for the number of NASCIO appearances. I'm looking forward to this run it up. Uh but thank you for giving us an update on all things accessibility. We really appreciate it. Absolutely. Thanks, y'all, for having me.

Amy Glasscock 12:36

Thanks, Kalea.

Amy Glasscock 12:37

Thanks again for listening to NASCIO Voices. NASCIO Voices is a production of the National Association of State CIOs. Learn more at NASCIO.org.

Alex Whitaker 12:46

NASCIO has a bunch of new publications coming out in the coming weeks, so keep your eyes peeled for those. But in the meantime, share this podcast with a colleague.

Amy Glasscock 12:54

We'll be back soon with more great state IT content. Bye.